


Second Soldier Down

by angelskuuipo



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Early Work, GFY, Gen, back dated work, episode tag for You're Welcome, my first fic ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2014-06-08
Packaged: 2018-02-03 21:34:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1757569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelskuuipo/pseuds/angelskuuipo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Episode Tag for 'You're Welcome'</p>
<p>6-8-14: For the next few days I will be transferring all of my fic to AO3.  So here, have my very first fic ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Soldier Down

**Author's Note:**

> My very fist fic, written February 7, 2004. My, but I've come a long way since then.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Thank you,” I said flatly as I hung up the phone.

She’s gone. I don’t want to believe it, but I know it’s true. She’ll always be in my heart, in the back of my mind, kicking me in the ass when I start to stray from the path. I know that’s why she came back. I’ll never really be alone again. How do I tell the others? Show up at the Cat ‘n’ Fiddle and say, “Hey guys, sorry, but Cordy’s actually dead and won’t be joining us for drinks.” I don’t think so. Besides, that isn’t something you tell your family in the middle of a crowded pub. I need to start making the funeral arrangements. Oh, wait, it’s the middle of the night. What the hell am I going to do?

“Angel?”

“Wes.”

“We waited for you for over an hour. Where’s Cordelia?”

“Get the others back here, okay? I’ll explain it to all of you together.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Yes…no…just get them here.”

“Sure.” Wes went to phone the others, while I tried to get myself together.

“They’ll be here momentarily.”

“Yeah.” Silence reigned while we waited. Wes kept shooting me surreptitious looks that I ignored. I couldn’t make small talk.

Fred, Gunn, and Lorne walked in about ten minutes later. As Lorne walked into the office he looked around and said in a soft voice, “She’s gone.” None of us noticed that Harmony and Spike had also come in.

I looked at him and almost lost it. The others looked at him in confusion. I said, “Yes, she’s gone. The doctor called about an hour ago. She never woke up from the coma and passed away peacefully.”

“But, that’s impossible. We all saw her, hugged her…,” Fred wasn’t taking this well. Can’t blame her. I’m not taking it well. I think numb is where I’m at right now.

“Yes, we did. Her spirit had one final mission before she could truly rest. She came to get me, us, back on track. You know I was, am, lost. The Powers let her get me back. She told me they owed her one and that she didn’t waste it. I remember who I am now and what it is that we’re doing. We beat the bad guys. We are going to make this work. But this whole “gray area” thing is really not working for me. We’ll figure out something.” I finally noticed Spike lurking in the doorway.

“Spike. Maybe having you on the streets is a good thing. I go out and wind up with a publicity squad on my tail. I cannot believe I’m about to say this, but perhaps we can work together?”

Everyone looked at me like I had lost my mind. Again, can’t blame them. I mean, come on this is _Spike_ I’m talking about. But now that I think about it, he’s not going to go away. He seems determined to be a pain in our collective ass, he might as well be useful.

Spike looked at me thoughtfully for a moment then smirked as he opened his mouth to reply. Have I mentioned how much I _hate_ that smirk? “Yeah, mate. I think we could give it a shot. But I refuse to call you boss.”

“Right. We’ll work it out later. Would you and Harmony mind leaving us now? I need to talk with the others alone.” They both nodded and closed the door quietly behind them.

“Are you all alright?”

The four of them looked at each other then at me. All of them had tears in their eyes and I knew the ones I had been holding back were about to spill. Without a word we all came together in a hug.

“She’s not really gone. She may not be here physically, but she will always be in our hearts. I can feel her in the back of my mind telling, me I’ll be okay,” I said as we held each other.

As we all came to some sort of peace with Cordelia being gone, we went our separate ways. In my apartment I set up a picture of her next to one I had of Doyle.

“Second soldier down.”

As I looked at my fallen friends I felt sadness, but also a sense of peace. I really am where I’m supposed to be and I do know who I am again. What was it Doyle said to me after I took out Russell Winters? _“Are you game?”_ Yeah, I’m game. I’m Angel, and I beat the bad guys.

-30-

* * *

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.  
  
This story archived at <http://wickedangel.magical-worlds.us/viewstory.php?sid=69>


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